Inside & Out

author’s note:

Dedicated to all the worriers out there.

I know your pain.


INSIDE & OUT

Feeling defeated
at the end of another day
I fell back

and in the emptiness following a sigh
again heard that gentle whisper
of blended gender--
heard again those words inside my ear:
"Do not worry--
  I am with you always"

and as before, heard nothing more--
only silence when I asked
"who's there?"

yet I feel comforted by this occasional visitor:
I always imagine an angel behind my left shoulder
shielding me with the canopy
of its invisible wings

but maybe I'm actually hearing
a better stronger me
echoing from deep within--

shouldn't I rejoice at the thought
I hold such power of spirit?

Well, yes...nonetheless
I still want to believe:
I'm not alone--I am known.

So tonight
if the voice returns
whispering "Do not worry"
I'll again imagine a constant angel

but will also tell myself:
apparently, you have the strength you need
to triumph despite the defeat
of these heavy gray days.

© 2019, Michael R. Patton
searching for my best beliefs: poetry ebook